Busy, busy, busy

By Diane Silver

I've been swamped with writing deadlines and other activities and apologize for neglecting this blog. I definitely owe a correspondent one post I promised rounding up some lesbian and gay opinions of Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton. Apologies! That will come soon.

Meanwhile, thanks much to my co-bloggers Nancy Jane Moore (yay Texas!) for keeping the home fires burning and to Pamela Taylor who will soon make a renewed appearance.

Too quiet for too long

By Diane Silver

Apologies for being preoccupied with other work and for letting In This Moment fall silent. I'm pleased to say that I'm back and updating on a more regular basis.

Life remains good here in sunny Kansas. Thanksgiving was great fun. I had a giggling, good time with my son and my Mom. We celebrated my son's 22nd birthday on Thanksgiving. I remain slightly befuddled as to how he could have gotten to be, well, so old, but I am delighted to see the amazing, funny, responsible and principled man he has become. I am VERY proud.

While I wasn't blogging, I was (a) making money in various writing projects, (b) continuing to turn out my Hope and Politics column for Camp KC and the Liberty Press, and (c) getting a chance to write about two of my first loves, science fiction and fantasy, for the very marvelous AfterEllen.com.

More soon...

Stay Tuned

By Diane Silver

I'm popping in to let you know that In This Moment's hearty staff is still around. We're well. (Many thanks for asking!) We're busy. (Busy is always good, especially when it's attached to making money.) We're also meditating on the future of this illustrious blog and considering where we want to go and what we want to do in the blogging life.

Stay tuned. We'll keep posting. The updates might be a bit sporadicwhile we get this all worked out.

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PHOTO: Nothing special. Just a shout for joy at a sunrise and delight in being alive.

Happy Monday!

By Diane Silver

Between the 4th of July and a variety of other money-making commitments, we've slowed down a bit here at In This Moment. Stay tuned for further developments. Posting will resume soon.

Meanwhile, in beautiful Lawrence, Kansas, it is hot, hot, hot and humid as all get out. I know this is ecologically unsound, but I'm not certain I would survive without air conditioning.

And so it goes...

Welcome Newstex!

By Diane Silver

I am pleased to announce that In This Moment is now affiliated with Newstex.

Perhaps the best way to explain Newstex is to say that it helps folks make sense out of the wild west mess of the Internet. In This Moment is pleased to be a part of their Blogs on Demand network.

Why I'm spending so much time on a Kansas story on my national blog

By Diane Silver

I'm sensitive to the fact that often readers from other states turn away from In This Moment because of what they perceive as a Kansas focus. That's why I split the blog into two parts with the new Kansas Voice picking up the load for the local posts.

But today I posted a long item about state politics, and I put it here. I did so because in recent years -- as Thomas Frank proved -- what happens in Kansas matters to the rest of the nation. We have, and are, serving as an early warning system on the religious right.

Not only has the far right perfected strategies here that have later been used elsewhere, but Kansas politicians may well be soon leaping to the national stage. That includes Democrats like Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and right wingers like Republican Phill Kline.

That's why this post is here. I hope you'll stay around and read it.

Shameless Self-Promotion: Science publication picks up post

By Diane Silver

Scitizen has reprinted my post on James Holsinger, Bush's surgeon general nominee. I had never heard of Scitizen before one of the editors wrote to ask if it was OK to reprint the post. It looks like an interesting publication that is attempting to bring scientific standards to science writing. What a thought!

My post, by the way, is firmly labeled "opinion," as it should be.

Blog News: A new "Kansas Voice" & a more national focus for In This Moment

By Diane Silver

I'm playing around with something new, and I hope you all will tell me if this is a great idea or a decidedly stupid one.

What I'm going to do is to work to give In This Moment more of a national and international focus, while still maintaining a place for Kansas news and commentary.

I'm doing this because non-Kansas readers tell me that when they sample In This Moment, they sometimes go away for good because it looks we're just Kansas focused. I can see how that can happen given that I have been known to obsess a bit about the Sunflower State. It is my home after all.

But I and my co-bloggers have always meant to give In This Moment a much broader geographic focus. I think that's particularly important as we head into a presidential election year, and we all struggle to figure out who should get our vote.

Bottom line: I've created a new blog called Kansas Voice. I'll put a link to this at the top of In This Moment. I'll also continue to post links to Kansas stories on In This Moment, but the posts will be mere links, and thus, won't edge out news from the greater world outside of the Prairie.

As I said, this is an experiment. Let me know what you think.

On the Road Again: Why we migrate to WisCon every year

By Diane Silver

Once again the staff of In This Moment is heading to delightful Madison for the annual WisCon gathering of the feminist science fiction, fantasy and horror community. My plane is leaving this morning at, ugh, 6:40.

If you can't even conceive of what something like WisCon might be like... Imagine a place where the instant you walk into a hotel you see a friend and start talking, and you don't stop meeting friends, talking, listening or laughing until you get back on the plane to go home. WisCon is nonstop joy, intense discussion, and above all, connection. It nourishes the soul. It makes me a better writer every time I go.

All of which is why I'm heading off once again. The rest of the In This Moment staff, Nancy Jane Moore and Pamela K. Taylor, will also be at WisCon as usual.

I may have a chance for a post or two, but at the very least, I'll be running some special posts.

I've been writing a column -- called "Hope & Politics" -- for the Liberty Press for about nine months now. The column has just been picked up by Camp in Kansas City. None of the columns have appeared online yet. I'll be posting a selection while we're gone.
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PHOTO: Here I am, on the left, grinning like a fool with 2001 WisCon Guest of Honor Elisabeth Vonarburg. We are celebrating the birth of Broad Universe at the very first BU party. Elisabeth, by the way, was my roommate in 1999, the first year I attended WisCon. I had a horrible cold. She was a dear.

If you send an email to us

By Diane Silver

It's come to my attention that emails to hopeandpolitics@yahoo.com may have gone astray. The problem is that we're now getting a ton of spam in our yahoo inbox.

Thus, if you want to send a direct email to In This Moment -- and we would love to hear from you -- please put "In This Moment" or the title of a recent post or something about a recent post in the subject line.

Simply saying "look at this," or "this is important," or "comment on this" makes your email look like spam, and I delete spam.

You must now register to comment on this blog

By Diane Silver

The days of anonymous comments are over on this blog. You must now register with Google in order to comment. People can still hide their identities by using an alias.

Before I changed to the new Blogger, I had limited comments to only registered users, but the change over seemed to cut off some of the old commentators. I think there's been enough time now, though, for folks to figure out how to register.

Let me know if you have any problem registering with Google.

Diane Silver's Greatest Hits

As I do a little remodeling here on In This Moment, I'm reorganizing our greatest hits listings, which will now be clustered in individual posts. In this post, I'm listing some of my favorite and most-linked posts. Enjoy or ignore, depending on your taste.

• Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church & the saddest family in America
• Yet Another Fred Phelps Commentary
• Love and Fred Phelps
• The life of an American lesbian
• Winning the lesbian parent marathon
• Living With A Target On Your Back
• The Lesbian and the Fundamentalists
• The Birth of the Movement to Take Back Kansas
  
• The Fundamentalists' Bad Bet

Nancy Jane Moore's Greatest Hits

• Women excel in college. This is a crisis?
• American Academy of Pediatrics says same-sex marriage is good
• What's the matter with Arlen Specter?
• UN chides the US for DC's lack of votes
• Alberto Gonzales, Richard Perle on Iran & more
• Texas Republicans name God as their chairman
• Activist judges? What activist judges?
• Do you read science fiction?

Pamela K. Taylor's Greatest Hits

• Eid ul Adha & the culture of commercialism
• The Baker-Hamilton Panel tells us the obvious about Iraq
• This weekend Muslim women take matters into their own hands
  
• President Bush's Iraq Plan
  
• Just a little more on Rep. Ellison & Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an
  
• The Progressive Muslim Union and the Great Niqab Debate
• Am I safe? Pondering hope & despair under the new detainee law
  
• Homegrown terrorism
• Sensationalizing terror arrests hurts us all

Our very own Pamela K. Taylor doesn't post as often as before because she has flown off to the big time. You can find her essays these days at The Washington Post/Newsweek online feature, On Faith.

Danger Will Robinson!!!!

By Diane Silver

Folks, I'm going to try the death-defying feat of changing templates. I want to keep the same design, but I want to move to the new Blogger template so that I'll be able to offer an RSS feed and a few other goodies.

Of course, these kind of changes never happen without hassles, so things may look and be weird for a bit.

You may experience some disorientation. However, please keep your seats and remain calm.

Hang on. We're taking off.

I'm baaaaaack!

By Diane Silver

Yup. I'm back from Florida with many thoughts rolling around in my head, not the least of which is that Kansas is way too landlocked and that families, particularly extended ones, are endlessly fascinating.

We buried a great lady this weekend. We cried. We told many great Marge stories. We laughed. We cried some more. We consumed more than a bit of beer, wine, BBQ and assorted other goodies. We watched basketball. (Oh my gawd, KU.) We went to the beach.

I'm too exhausted to make much sense of it right now. More thoughts, posts and coherencies will come later.

Many, many thanks, Nancy, for keeping us up to date!

On the Road & Open Thread

By Diane Silver

It is the crack of way before dawn, and my son and I are heading out to the airport. I wish I could say the trip was for fun, but we're heading down to Florida for a family funeral. We are going to honor a beloved grandmother who meant a lot to us both.

I'm taking my new laptop, and hope to blog some. Nancy Jane Moore may be dropping in to comment on the topics of the day. I do hope to do a few things, but my posts may be sporadic until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, feel free to use this as an open thread. What's the latest happening with Jerry Johnston? What else is going on in Kansas and the world? Is there a new topic you want to take up?

Applause for one of our own!

By Diane Silver

As the proprietor of In This Moment, I am pleased to announce that one of our writers, Pamela K. Taylor, is now also blogging at The Washington Post/Newsweek web site's On Faith section. And, oh yes, Pamela will also continue to post right here at In This Moment.

Wahoo, and hearty congratulations to Pamela!

A new day & a new life

By Diane Silver

Welcome to a new day in my life and on this blog. I am such a happy camper!

Today marks my return to full-time writing and activism, and I couldn't be happier. What this means for me personally is that I get to tackle projects I've been putting off for years. I also get to work harder and longer than ever before, but oh, the satisfaction of being able to do what matters to me. And yes, I suppose I am that selfish.

What this means for In This Moment and the other Hope & Politics blogs is that I'll have the flexibility to update more often and to pursue more independent reporting.

The above photo matches my mood: a new day, a new sunrise and an exuberant figure.

Seeing as I didn't exactly crawl out of bed at the crack of dawn, though, the scene outside my window here in Lawrence, Kan., is a bit different. Right now it's bright and sunny and already 44. We expect to go to a high of 52 today. After the artic freeze and snow of the last few weeks, it feels like spring. And if it isn't spring outside yet, it sure is in my mind.

Stay tuned. The fun is only beginning.

Welcome to In This Moment

By Diane Silver

Welcome visitors from Daily Kos! Thanks so much to mcjoan for linking to us today. Joan, your perspective was fascinating Tuesday night at the Dole Institute's panel on political blogging. I also thoroughly enjoyed our conversation afterwards. Many thanks for your time.

For a good review of the Dole Institute panel see Joan's post and Jerome Armstrong's comments.

Now I have to sheepishly admit that until today I had not registered at Kos. I've just done so. However, I won't be able to join the conversation and say thinks "in person" until tomorrow because of the lag built into the Kos system.

Meanwhile, I am extremely impressed by the depth of knowledge about Lawrence restaurants exhibited by the Great Kos Folk. You certainly know the best places to go!

Some of you are obviously in this area, so all I can say is where the heck are you located, and when can we get together at Free State for a beer?!!!!

For those of you new to In This Moment, here's a guide to just a little of what we've been doing for the last year or so. (We were born in November 2005.)

Lawrence's attempt to pass domestic partner registry prompted a conservative lawmaker to push to ban registries in Kansas. We've been covering the story.

We've also written about a variety of other Kansas topics.

...On anti-gay, hate-monger Fred Phelps and his clan, complete with blow-by-blow battle between us and two different members of the Phelps family

...On fairness for lgbt citizens & what it's like to be a lesbian in Kansas

...On the birth of the movement to take back Kansas

Meanwhile, In This Moment writer Nancy Jane Moore looks at the United States and the world from her vantage point in Washington, D.C.

Writer Pamela K. Taylor gives us the progressive Muslim perspective